


Dressed for the Occasion

by tinx_r



Series: Beach Boys [2]
Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: M/M, Riptide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-24
Updated: 2009-11-24
Packaged: 2017-10-03 16:37:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinx_r/pseuds/tinx_r
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cody's promised to take a girl out, and expected Nick to be upset. But Nick seems to think it's a great idea...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dressed for the Occasion

"It's all right with me." Nick shrugged, looking over his shoulder at Cody. "She's a nice girl. Knock yourself out."

Cody looked at him for a long moment, hesitating as though he was about to say something, and Nick shrugged again. "What, man?"

"Nothing." Cody started walking again, hurrying to catch up. "Whaddaya think, should I take a bottle of wine?"

"Sure, that's polite." Nick's grin looked a little strained, Cody thought. Or was he imagining it?

"I dunno, buddy." Cody hesitated. "Maybe this isn't such a great idea. Maybe I'll just stay home tonight."

"Don't be silly." This time, there was no mistaking Nick's cheerful grin, the solid heartiness of the slap he bestowed on his friend's back. "Listen pal, I'll even lend you the Vette, huh? That Woody...well, don't get me wrong, man, but the chicks like wheels that move, y'know?"

"Nick, it's a classic! When I get her fixed up - "

"I know, Cody, I know." Nick's arm stayed around Cody's shoulder, warm and welcome, squeezing him just a little tighter than usual, and Cody's protests died on his lips. He swallowed hard, looking at his best friend, but Nick's face was open, laughing, hiding nothing. "I'm telling you, take the Vette."

"Thanks buddy," Cody muttered, looking down at his shoes. "I guess I will."

While Cody went to the liquor store, Nick ran into the drugstore next door, but when Cody came out with a bottle of chardonnay in a paper bag, Nick was waiting for him, holding a slim bouquet. Cody looked at his friend in confusion.

"You gotta do it right with these city girls," Nick said, grinning at Cody's frown. "She's not some beach bunny you can impress with your windswept look." Grin widening, he tugged a lock of Cody's blond hair. "You know what, we should get you a haircut, too."

"Nick, no!" Cody shrugged away, chest tightening as Nick giggled. He'd thought Nick would be upset or at least concerned when he'd broached the subject of a date with Sandy, but Nick seemed to think it was a great idea. Cody took a deep breath, turning so that Nick couldn't see his eyes. "I'll take her the flowers, but come on, I'm not getting a makeover."

Back on the Riptide, Cody showered and shaved, then went to the stateroom to dress. He got out his brand new gray jeans, and was about to put them on when Nick bounded into the cabin.

"Nah, don't wear those, man." Nick took the garment out of his hands, tossing them to his own bunk. "Your white pants. Girls like them."

"You sure?" Cody looked at his partner doubtfully, but Nick was busily poking in his own closet.

"Sure I'm sure." Nick turned back, one of his own shirts in his hand. "And listen, pal, why don't you wear this shirt? I've been meaning to get you to try it. It's just the right color."

Cody took the shirt - it was a nice one, white with light blue stripes, that Nick had bought last time they'd been in the city - and frowned slightly. "D'you think, Nick? I was gonna wear my lemon polo..."

"That's nice, yeah, but this one's better. Trust me," Nick grinned and patted his cheek. "It'll go with your eyes."

"Nick - "

But Nick was gone, footsteps hurrying across the salon floor, only his voice echoing back to Cody. "Hurry up or you'll be late!"

Cody dropped to the bunk, crushing the shirt in his hands. Going out with Sandy was the last thing he wanted to do, but it had been a date since before she'd gone to Chicago for her six week vacation. And back then, he and Nick hadn't been... Cody groaned softly. He didn't really know what he and Nick were doing, what it meant. They hadn't talked about it yet, and the way Nick was acting now, maybe they weren't ever going to.

Slowly, Cody got to his feet and started to dress. The way he felt with Nick... it was so good, so right, he'd started thinking it meant something. Started thinking they were together. He'd just assumed that Nick felt the same way.

He smoothed the creases he'd put in Nick's carefully ironed shirt, buttoning it slowly. It was a little big for him in the chest, but when he rolled the sleeves up the way Nick would wear it, it did look good. Cody swallowed hard. The thing with Nick... maybe for Nick it was just for fun, just sex. A couple of buddies helping each other out. With a sigh, Cody ran a hand over his newly-shaven jaw. When he thought about it, that made a whole hell of a lot of sense. How the hell had he been so stupid, anyhow?

Upstairs, Cody found the boat empty, the keys to the Vette on the table and the flowers neatly beside them. Nick must've gone to Straightaway's, Cody supposed, and his stomach dropped. He'd have rather joined his friend at the bar than taken Sandy out to the dinner he'd promised her so many weeks ago. Back when he'd thought her teasing smile, her caressing touches, might be the thing he'd been looking for, that she might be the answer.

Sandy was anything but the answer. She was just as pretty as he remembered, and just as flirtatious, leaning on the table in a way calculated to raise the bloodpressure of every man who walked past. But Cody found it nearly impossible to concentrate on her stories of the funny things that had happened in Chicago.

Cody couldn't stop thinking about Nick. The way it felt to touch him, to hold him. The way Nick made him feel. If Nick didn't feel the same... Cody swallowed hard and rubbed a hand across his face. This morning, he'd woken up in Nick's arms, wondering how he'd got so lucky. Wondering why it had taken them so long to find this thing. He'd never thought to wonder if it would last.

Cody swallowed a groan, and hurriedly turned it into a cough as Sandy looked at him inquiringly. It felt so right with Nick. He didn't know how he'd managed to get it so damn wrong.

By the time he got home, Cody figured he had himself under control. He'd made an excuse to take Sandy home early, and fended off her attempts to get him inside. Instead of going straight to the Riptide, he'd walked down the pier to Straightaway's - when he got there, the dancefloor was already open and there was no sign of Nick, but the walk had helped to clear his head, helped him get a little perspective.

If Nick didn't want what Cody wanted, hadn't felt what Cody did, Cody figured he could live with that. He'd find a way to forget, to go back to how things were. Nick was the best friend he'd ever had, his partner, hell, the reason he was still breathing. And that friendship wasn't something Cody was prepared to lose.

"Hey, buddy!" Cody swung himself aboard the Riptide, calling out with a cheerfulness he didn't feel. There was a light on in the salon and he ran down the steps, finding Nick sitting at the table, a paperback in his hands.

"How was Sandy?" Nick asked, standing up and going to the coffee pot.

"She was great," Cody said brightly, accepting the mug Nick held out to him. "She had a great time in Chicago." He searched his partner's face.

Nick looked away, taking his own coffee back to the table. "I bet she was pleased to see you again, huh?"

"Sure, I guess." Cody hesitated, gulping the scalding black brew. "Listen, Nick - "

"Look, Cody, I'm not - " Nick started speaking at the same time, and they both broke off.

"I took her home early," Cody said in a rush. "Nick - "

"You didn't have to do that," Nick said quietly, still not looking at Cody, and Cody's heart sank. This was the confirmation he'd feared. "Cody, listen to me," Nick continued, finally raising his head. "I know Sandy's special, all right? I know you want to introduce her to your mom and - and everything. And I - look, you don't have to worry, all right? I'm not gonna get in the way of that."

"Sandy - " Cody stopped, lost for words. Hope starting in his chest, he crossed to the benchseat and slid in next to his partner. "Nick, wait. You think... you thought I still wanted Sandy? All that stuff I told you, back before she went away?"

"Well, sure." Nick looked up at last, turning his head so Cody could see his eyes. He looked unhappy and confused. "Don't you?"

Cody reached out and laid a hand on his best friend's arm. "No," he said in a whisper. "Not anymore."

*

Nick was drowsing on Cody's chest, the two of them almost impossibly entwined in Cody's bunk, and Cody thought he'd never let Nick go again. Certainly not in order to go out on a date. He pressed a light kiss against his lover's ear, fingers tracing patterns on his back, and Nick stirred. "Hmmm?"

"Nothing, go back to sleep," Cody whispered, but Nick raised his head with a grin and a yawn.

"Nah, I can think of better things to do," he murmured, claiming Cody's mouth, and Cody surrendered willingly to being thoroughly kissed.

"Did Sandy like the shirt?" Nick asked at last, coming up for air.

Cody's mind was so full of Nick it took him a moment to remember who Sandy was, and another one to recall the shirt. "Um, yeah I think so," he muttered, reaching up for another kiss.

"She should've," Nick said. "I was right. It goes with your eyes." He kissed Cody, soft and light this time, then mouthed his jaw. "Looked good with those pants too."

"Mmmm... uh," Cody managed incoherently, brain spinning with pleasure at the sensations Nick's mouth was creating.

"You should wear those new gray jeans tomorrow," Nick murmured, teeth caressing Cody's neck.

"Was gonna...wear 'em today," Cody muttered, tilting his head to give Nick better access, peering up at him through half closed eyes. "But you wouldn't let me."

"Wasn't risking anyone but me getting to peel 'em off you," Nick explained, raising up.

Cody chuckled softly, blinking his eyes open to find his lover looking down at him with a satisfied smirk. "What?" he asked softly, raising his arms to pull Nick back down.

Nick grinned. "You know what?" He ran a hand down Cody's naked chest. "I like this outfit best of all."


End file.
